Are cats sickly little beasts?

[Bazzer]

It is entirely impossible for an owner to set boundaries for a cat short of keeping them indoors, and if a cat has grown up accustomed to being able to go outdoors, locking it up is actively cruel.

Outdoors cats are very territorial, they take their patrols very seriously, and it sounds like your garden is part of their turf, or at least a way for them to get to their turf.
Scoosh them with some water when they're in your garden. They are generally not stupid and they quickly get the message, if it becomes sufficiently unpleasant for them to maintain that territory they will abandon it.

They know not to come into my garden when I am around. It's when I am not around, using seed and vegetable beds and my herb garden as their toilet, I object to. I also dislike their seemingly non selective murderous tendencies towards wildlife.

 

[KnittyNorah]

They know not to come into my garden when I am around. It's when I am not around, using seed and vegetable beds and my herb garden as their toilet, I object to. I also dislike their seemingly non selective murderous tendencies towards wildlife.

The RSPB aren't overly concerned about their toll on birds in general and in most places, although they acknowledge that it can be individually distressing.
They have quite a lot of useful advice on how to deter cats from your garden here.

They, and the British Mammal Society, recommend that the two best ways of protecting wildlife if you are a cat owner is to (a) keep your cat in overnight as much as you can and (b)use a quick-release collar with a bell or other warning device. More sensible advice on the RSPB site here, if you are a cat owner who feeds birds.

 

[Mike_P]

Suspect a lot of lost cats actually kipping in another house, a lot seem to have more than one home. Had a neighbour who had moved their after one of her cats had been hit by a car. It had dragged itself back to her previous house and the vet had put it back together but was astonished how well it could walk. A bit ropy at first, I heard it almost crying in her back garden; it was being stalked by another cat so a stone aimed at the aggressor. To say cats have no feelings was subsequently proved wrong for as soon as it could jump enough to get over the fence it spent most of its time almost stuck to me. Also seemed to develop a good understanding of words, one day having been asked to look after her cats I arrived home and like glue it followed into my house. Said to it "I was hoping you were next door, have to feed you" and it did no more than walk out and sit on a shed looking at her back door.

 

[Mike_P]

On the issue of hunting their is a view that all cats should be allowed a litter; by neutering straight away they are not evolving away from the need to hunt.

 

[cyberknight]

The RSPB aren't overly concerned about their toll on birds in general and in most places, although they acknowledge that it can be individually distressing.
They have quite a lot of useful advice on how to deter cats from your garden here.

They, and the British Mammal Society, recommend that the two best ways of protecting wildlife if you are a cat owner is to (a) keep your cat in overnight as much as you can and (b)use a quick-release collar with a bell or other warning device. More sensible advice on the RSPB site here, if you are a cat owner who feeds birds.

Our cat is a hunter / eater no birds/mice etc are safe im afraid even with a bell collar the blighter can easily catch small stuff like mice and sparrows and one even bough tin a bat .
We dont like it but at a loss on how to stop her bringng us prezzies on a regular basis .Mrs ck often says we ought to get rid eof the cat although the kids love it .
I grew up with cats in the countryside so im used to it .

 

[KnittyNorah]

Suspect a lot of lost cats actually kipping in another house, a lot seem to have more than one home.

When I was a small child we had a big black cat called Sooty. He adored me and, especially, my dad. He merely tolerated my mother. Dad was at work Mon- Fri and when I got to about 3 or 4 I went to nursery. And at that point Sooty started disappearing on Tuesday mornings and reappearing at Friday lunchtime - but if dad didn't go to work on Tuesday morning, or if I didn't go to nursery, Sooty stayed at home all week. After a couple of months of this, mum tied a luggage label round his neck (cats in those days didn't wear collars) with a note on saying 'my name is Sooty, I live on XYZ street. where do I go from Tuesday to Friday?'
On Friday he came back with the label re-tied round his neck, 'At ABC Street I am called Cocoa and we wondered where he went every weekend'.
So dad went round and they were two old ladies who had never had a cat - or any pet for that matter! - until Sooty sussed them out as being a soft touch for tinned salmon, fresh beef and the like and, very important, constant company when neither my dad nor I were at home. When we moved house quite a long way away, my mum was a bit concerned about them missing Sooty so she found a rather nice, lazy, affectionate cat which someone wanted to 'get rid of' as it was 'no good' at mousing, and took it round to the old ladies with advice about 'buttering its paws' so it would stay at home. They stayed in touch with mum for several years after that, as they said that without meeting Sooty they would never have learnt of the delights of pet ownership.

 

[KnittyNorah]

Our cat is a hunter / eater no birds/mice etc are safe im afraid even with a bell collar the blighter can easily catch small stuff like mice and sparrows and one even bough tin a bat .
We dont like it but at a loss on how to stop her bringng us prezzies on a regular basis .Mrs ck often says we ought to get rid eof the cat although the kids love it .
I grew up with cats in the countryside so im used to it .

Well unless you live near a nature reserve with rare birds, the RSPB isn't concerned so I wouldn't be either. I used to have a really tiny cat with only one eye who was a demon hunter; she'd catch big fat woodpigeons and full-grown rabbits - no baby birds or little mice for her, she liked something with plenty of meat on its bones! This cat used to tuck her chin in to dull the sound of the bells on her collar.

 

[PeteXXX]

 

[Cletus Van Damme]

I used to dislike cats, no real reason to be honest, must've been a macho thing or some crap.. When I got married years ago we wanted a pet and realised a dog was out of the question. I had 2 cats, I thought they were awesome. One was really soft and not that bright, the other was really sharp and a total killer. The killer cat was by far the best although I didn't like that part at all. They passed away a good while ago now and I've inherited another, hes slightly overweight but a really cool cat and he doesn't kill anything.

I'm really a dog kind of guy, but everybody is different. I'd rather have a cat than a little yappy lapdog, I just don't get them at all, just like a lot of people can't be @rsed with cats (like the OP) I'm the same with some small dogs. I do like Jack Russell's, Paterdale's and Cocker Spaniels and a lot of the mixed ones, Cockerpoo etc, etc. I'd never harm one or any animal. Everybody to their own though.

 

[rogerzilla]

Cats vary a lot. Some are aloof, some are very affectionate. Some hunt, some don't have the instinct at all. I much prefer them to dogs, which are less independent, often hugely inbred leading to appalling health issues (e.g. pugs, french bulldogs) and don't even self-clean. Plus, if you have a cat, all the mice and rats in the area move out, which is why we domesticated cats un the first place.

 

[Reynard]

Our cat is a hunter / eater no birds/mice etc are safe im afraid even with a bell collar the blighter can easily catch small stuff like mice and sparrows and one even bough tin a bat .
We dont like it but at a loss on how to stop her bringng us prezzies on a regular basis .Mrs ck often says we ought to get rid eof the cat although the kids love it .
I grew up with cats in the countryside so im used to it .

Prezzies are part and parcel of being owned by a cat. Usually, gifts are them bringing us stuff because we're such godawful cats and can't hunt for toffee...

I get everything from sucked butterflies to snakes.

N.B. A bell on a collar is bloody useless. A stalking cat moves slowly enough for the bell not to jingle.

 

[fossyant]

Ours just catch flies (house cats) and play with Nerf bullets !

 

[Reynard]

Ours just catch flies (house cats) and play with Nerf bullets !

Sky raisins!!!

Poppy is the expert in sky raisin catching. She eats the damn things as well.

Lexi likes spiders, but won't eat the legs...

 

[Mike_P]

Plus, if you have a cat, all the mice and rats in the area move out, which is why we domesticated cats un the first place.

Not necessarily, arrived home one evening and a neighbour, not the one I referenced earlier, called me to get a mouse out of her house - her cat was not interested. Have to admit the mouse was so small it probably thought it wasn't worth the cats effort

 

[fossyant]

Leo (gingy) and Simba asleep together.

This never happens as Leo is a bossy knickers.